Really bad ''diaper rash''- what do I do?  

My 5-week-old bottle baby has had runny poop since I rescued him (he was abandoned outside my work when he was 5 days old), and it seems that it's given him a very bad case of diaper rash. He's all red and swollen around his little bum, and the underside of his tail/insides of his legs are red and fur-less. I've tried to keep him as clean and dry as I possibly can, but nothing I seem to do helps. He cries whenever he sits down, whenever he goes to the bathroom and now he seems to have chafed himself to the point of bleeding.

I'm at a complete loss of what to do-- I've tried several different medicines [flagyle, albon and one other one] to help stop the diarrhea, but nothing really fixes it. Does anyone have advice for me...?

He's going with me to my voluenteer group tomorrow [cats in need of human care, fullerton division] to be looked over by the ladies that know cat illnesses far better than I do. He has seen a vet-- it was the first place that he was taken after being rescued from that awful box. He had two siblings-- both of which passed on in the first 48 hours after being rescued-- one from a horrid infestation of fleas and general weakness and the other from a terrible URI.

I spoke with some of the ladies with C.I.N., and they reccomended desitin original paste for the rash and children's immodium to help with the diarrhea. His stools have changed from the consistency of gooey water to paste and back to a liquid-y substance in the course of 24 hours. A vet visit is in the works for tomorrow.

Re: Bene-bac, I do have some. I work at a Petsmart, and so have a wealth of information and supplies at hand. Balder isn't the first kitten that I've rescued-- though he's the first with such horrible health issues.

At the moment, he's calmed down a bit. He's eating a bit more-- I was reccomended that I buy organic meat [since that's what his mama would've been weaning him to had he been left with her], make that into a pulp, mix it with a bit of formula and give him that. He's been making little growls at it and trying to figure out exactly how to get it down. He hasn't been drinking formula from the bottle for a few days now; I kept trying to get him to go back to it, simply for suppliment's sake, but he's been refusing.

Thank you for your advice so far-- it's been helpful. Don't worry, I'll get him to a vet. He's hale and hearty other than the mushy poop, and I'm certain that he's free of ringworm. The missing patches of fur are in matched spots on each inner 'knee', and came from the acidity of his urine/defication. If he had ringworm... I'd have it too by now. Please let me know if there's anything else that you have to offer-- your advice is golden.

-Luke

Hello all-- I have a sad update on Balder. We took him into the vet today, and while they were giving him fluids to help counter the dehydration that had set in from the diarrhea, he passed on.

Thank you for all your help. He's at peace now, and at least he's not hurting anymore. Granted, saying that sounds fake and empty to those of us he left behind. I know I'll see him again someday, but for today, the loss is blindingly painful.